News

IsoTek upgrades mains cables (8/8/2007)

Market-leading mains cables for hi-fi and home cinema equipment upgraded with IsoTek's latest connectors

Much lauded by the critics, IsoTek's specialised mains cables for hi-fi and home cinema equipment have been upgraded to deliver even better performance. Aside from a change of colour for the outer insulating tube from clear to a fetching translucent blue, the major improvement is in the plugs: the range now features upgraded connectors, complete with deep cryogenic treatment. The sonic result is improved detail and definition, with crisp highs and solid, punchy bass Ð a performance well in excess of any other cables available at the price. And the picture quality produced by DVD players, TV screens and projectors is visibly enhanced, too!

Any hi-fi enthusiast who's had the opportunity to compare cables will that the use of specialised 'audio-grade' mains cables brings worthwhile improvements to the sound of good-quality systems when compared to typical freebie 'kettle leads'. When reviewing IsoTek's original mains cables, Hi-Fi Choice magazine praised the 'increase in hear-through quality', while What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision extolled the 'impressive low-end ability'.

Now, IsoTek's new generation of mains cables delivers even more, improving the audio and video performance of any good-quality hi-fi or home cinema system. But while the quality has increased, the prices haven't Ð all the cables in the range cost the same as their predecessors.

The Technology

The mains electricity that we use in our homes can vary enormously from to location, house to house, socket to socket Ð not just in terms of quantity, but quality too. Many things can 'pollute' the supply of electricity as it travels from the power station to your home, along a mains cable and into a hi-fi or home cinema component. This supply of electricity has a direct effect on the audio and picture quality that you receive; a polluted or inconsistent supply will create noise and reduce clarity. A poor power supply will also reduce the length of a product's working life. (Flip to page six of this press release for a simple explanation of why the 'quality' of mains electricity affects performance.)

IsoTek specialises in producing power management products, including mains conditioners and filters. For the ultimate in performance, a system should combine IsoTek conditioning components with IsoTek mains cables, ensuring the purest possible electricity supply. However, it is possible to upgrade in stages Ð even without other filtering products, a simple cable upgrade will bring significant improvements, as IsoTek's own demonstrations at hi-fi shows around the world clearly show.

There are four cables in the new IsoTek range. In ascending price order, they are:

¥ IsoTek Premium ¥ IsoTek Elite ¥ IsoTek Optimum ¥ IsoTek Supreme

Premium and Elite are suitable for front-end components like CD and DVD players, while Optimum and Supreme are designed for components that impose higher video projectors.

Keith Martin, IsoTek's Creative Director, commented: "We've spent a amount of effort developing our new range of mains cables to offer exceptional performance and value for money. The development of our own audiophile-grade IEC connector was the start of the process and has proved to be a critical part of the design. Our engineers spent months measuring the resistance from the power station to the wall socket and concluded that a 'dirty' plug would create more resistance than all the wire in-between. It's easy to forget that the power supply only steps down to 230 Volts near to your home; when at 500,000 Volts, the power loss is minimal. For this reason, the quality of connectors, purity of cable and RFI/EMI rejection is critical."

Price and Availability

Premium
£60.00 for a 1.5m terminated cable (For longer cable lengths, there is an incremental charge of £10.00 for each additional metre)

Elite
£90.00 for a 1.5m terminated cable (For longer cable lengths, there is an incremental charge of £15.00 for each additional metre)

Optimum
£149.95 for a 1.5m terminated cable (For longer cable lengths, there is an incremental charge of £25.00 for each additional metre)

Supreme
£194.95 for a 1.5m terminated cable (For longer cable lengths, there is an incremental charge of £25.00 for each additional metre)

Premium, Elite, Optimum and Supreme mains cables are available now.

www.isoteksystems.com